Julia Stiles and Jenna Dewan make their debut on Dancing with the Stars before shock elimination

Dancing with the Stars sent home its second contestant of season 35 on Wednesday night. 

On the heels of Conner Leavitt's exit the previous evening, the female contestants commanded the dance floor for the second half of the two-night premiere. 

Golden Globe nominee Julia Stiles, 45, and Step Up actress Jenna Dewan, 45, made their highly-anticipated debut on the show. 

The night also featured performances from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star Tatyana Ali, celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis, Olympic gold medalist Amber Glenn, reality star Maura Higgins, Love Thy Nader star Sarah Jane Nader, and reality star Ciara Miller.

For their debut routines, contestants performed to a top-charting hit from their birth year before getting their scores from judges Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba.

The night ended with a shock elimination, as Nader - whose sister is Baywatch beauty Brooks Nader - and her partner Hailey Bills were sent home after dancing a jive to the 2002 hit song Sk8er Boi by Avril Lavigne. 

The model said she wanted to dance with a female partner because 'growing up in Louisiana, we were like deep South conservative, and I, being a queer person, I never saw on TV queer representation and so I wanted to show this is cool and this is okay.' 

Though Inaba called the performance 'super hot', Nader walked away with a score of 14 out of 30 before getting booted off. 

Meanwhile, Stiles and partner Ezra Sosa honored the late Dolly Parton by dancing to her hit 9 to 5.

The movie star shared that she has been 'obsessed' with Dancing with the Stars and 'always secretly dreamt about being on it.'

'Could winning the Mirrorball mean more to me than maybe an Emmy or Oscar? Yes,' she quipped.

Stiles told Sosa upon meeting him: 'I'm not a professional dancer by any means. I just played one in a movie.'

'I stopped taking dance classes because people expect me to be this perfect dancer,' she shared.

Stiles added that after Bravo talk show host Andy Cohen called her 'not the greatest dancer' it had stuck with her.

'That quote is imprinted in my brain,' she said. 'We're going to win the Mirrorball, sit on Andy's couch and be like, "hey,"" she joked.

Sosa admitted he was 'obsessed' with Stiles, stating, 'I just want to squeeze her cheeks.'

After her lively performance, Hough shouted: 'Andy Cohen, you can eat it!'

'First of all, Julia, that was beautiful, graceful. You are absolutely beaming. I love to see it.'

'For me you have all that. The quick step, I just want you to take off the hand brake and move across this floor with a little more energy. It felt a little more careful, a bit more gusto,' he added.

He said that in the future he wants to see 'more attack' and 'more energy' from her. 'But what a beautiful, fantastic dance. Well done.'

Tonioli said: 'I love it. I know exactly what you were doing, and it works. This is character-driven like comedy dance. You were in character spot on all the way through. You were playing a part and dancing beautifully. But, yeah, again he's absolutely right. You know, there is a drive that comes to the quickstep. They say you should be like running on hot coals. It is that kind of feeling that flies across the floor. But I can tell you, you're a great actor and you're a great dancer.'

Inaba called it 'really clean' adding, 'You're very radiant. You're expansive when you perform and I like that.'

After her performance, Stiles praised her partner, stating, 'This guy has pulled me out of my shell in the most amazing way.'

Stiles also said she chose Parton's song before the country legend died.

'It was the first song we talked about. I wanted it so badly. We didn't know what was going to happen, she cleared it. I feel so honored to honor Dolly. She's such a powerhouse, and the song is so great. Like, it's such anthem. And, yeah, what a legend. She was great.'

Stiles got a 6 from each judge, for a total score of 18.

Dewan and partner Val Chmerkovskiy danced a tango to the 1980 hit Call Me by Blondie.

Channing Tatum's ex-wife said it was a 'dream' to work with Chmerkovskiy.

She admitted she was nervous about the high expectations people might have of her and that their dance was 'very hard.'

But the beauty had nothing to worry about as she sparkled in a bright pink dress on the dance floor and thrilled the fans with her moves.

Hough said she put the 'go in Tango' and praised her for her 'power and energy.' But he added she needed to fine-tune her moves in the next performance.

Tonioli was thrilled by the dance, and said she was 'on fire.'  Inaba said it was 'fantastic.'

Dewan scored a 19 out of 30.

Reality TV star Higgins, 35, and partner Mark Ballas performed a foxtrot to Black Velvet by Alannah Myles, which earned them a high score of 21 out of 30.

The Love Island UK star was called 'mesmerizing' and 'seductive' by the judges. 

Ali, 47, and dance partner Jan Ravnik were first to hit the dance floor as they performed a jive to the 1979 hit Knock on Wood by Amii Stewart.

The actress admitted that preparing for the dance has been the 'hardest' thing she's ever put her body through. 

'I have like, my mom belly and I'm like, conscious of that while I'm moving but I'm excited to be able to move the way I know I want to in my mind.' 

Hough called her jive 'a little flat' but said she was a 'ball of sunshine.'

Inaba said the dance was 'a bit of a rough start' but noted that she sees a 'fierce fire' in Ali.

'You are a powerful woman. And I hope you make it back for next week because I want to see more.' 

The star ended up getting a score of 12 out of 30 for the night. 

Glenn, 26, and partner Pasha Pashkov went next and danced the cha cha to 1999 hit song Smooth by Santana featuring Rob Thomas.

The figure skater admitted she is accustomed to performing alone, and was anxious about having a partner. 

Hough praised her for having 'such an awareness to your body' but added she needed just a 'little more finesse, more technique here and there.'

Tonioli called her 'fierce' and said she 'attacked the cha-cha like a queen' adding, 'I love the attitude.' 

Glenn scored an 18 out of 30 for her performance.  

Miller, 30, and partner Brandon Armstrong danced the foxtrot to Whitney Houston's Exhale (Shoop Shoop).

The Summer House star admitted she's 'had a hell of a year' in reference to finding out that her ex West Wilson was dating her co-star and best friend, Amanda Batula earlier this year. 

'Drama-wise, this should be a walk in the park. So let's see if my hips serve me well.'

'A lot of my life has played out so publicly but I don't feel like I've gotten the chance to say my part in everything, but I want to say it in a different way,' she explained when speaking about why she wanted to join the show. 

Inaba said Miller's performance made her 'cry.'

'I can see the pain that you have. I can feel it. That’s the beautiful thing about dance, it gives you a place to express that,' she said.

Meanwhile, Hough told her to expand her frame. The dance earned the reality TV star a score of 15. 

De Laurentiis, 56, and partner Alan Bersten danced a tango to the 1970 song Venus by Shocking Blue.

Inaba said her lines were 'sweet and clear, very well defined' before adding, 'I liked this a lot.'

Hough said it 'wasn’t a bad first dance by any means' but it felt 'careful.'

The number earned her a score of 16. 

The premiere of season 35 kicked off with the men on Tuesday.

Leavitt, the husband of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt, and his dance partner Adele Zaikman were booted off after performing a 'chaotic' salsa.

Other performers included Tyler Cameron, Ezra Frech, Taylor Hanson, Jackson Olson, Guillermo Rodriguez, Harry Shum Jr. and Connor Wood.

Dancing with the Stars airs live on ABC and Disney+ and streams the next day on Hulu.